Should You Use Facebook Workplace at Your Business?

Today, Facebook publicly launched Facebook Workplace, called “Facebook at Work” during its pre-release phase. Starting today, any business can sign up for and use Facebook at Work. Here’s what you should keep in mind:

It’s Completely Separate from Your Personal Facebook

You (or your employees) don’t need a Facebook account to use Facebook at Work, and they’re completely separate, so profiles, posts, apps, and other activities won’t carry over.

Facebook Workplace has the Same Core Functionality

Status updates, groups, messenger, video/voice calls, events, and more — it’s all there. If your business thrives on collaboration, Facebook Workplace may make things easier, and replace few different services. (You’ll probably still need an employee scheduling app though!)

You could, for example, have team meetings using the built in Messenger-like app, and schedule team events (or even meetings) using the events app.

It Costs Money

While it seems relatively affordable, it’s worth noting that Facebook Workplace does cost money, though there are no ads. That said, unlike other paid services, Facebook only charges you if your team members use the service — they bill based on the number of people actively using the service ($3 per employee per month).

So. Should You Use Facebook Workplace?

It really depends on your type of business. While Facebook Workplace does have a wide range of customers around the world and in a wide variety of businesses, it comes down to how important remote collaboration is for your business.

If you’re running a restaurant or a clothing boutique, for example, it might not add a tremendous amount of value for your front-line hourly workers. (It might make sense for managers and other workers, though, where you’re sharing knowledge and process improvement ideas as much as you’re directly serving customers.)

Realistically, if only some aspects of Facebook Workplace seem useful to you at your business, it might be worth finding some free alternatives.

Ravi Dehar
Ravi works on the marketing team at Homebase. In the past, Ravi has also worked at Yelp, SeatMe, and Google, helping local businesses save time and money.

Homebase makes managing hourly work easier for over 60,000 local businesses. With free employee scheduling, time tracking, and team communication, managers and employees can spend less time on paperwork and more time on growing their business.